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Following a long day at a conference, a bunch of us decided to have a super early dinner at the Flying Pig in Yaletown. We heard about their long lines and delicious food, so we decided to give it a try.

Since it was still quite early, we opted to order almost all their sides and have a few drinks.

You would think their menu has a lot of pork items, but they don’t! They have a wide variety of appetizers, entrees and sides. They offer a simple menu inspired by fresh local seasonal ingredients.

The dining room is quite nice and it has an open kitchen in the back to see the chefs hard at work!

The menu.

Granville Island Lager ($5) has a clear golden brown color and it tasted light and smooth.

Complementary Bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Lobster and Prawn Risotto ($9) has a bit of thyme and mascarpone as well. Most of us at the table ordered this! I really enjoyed it because there was a good amount of lobster and prawns. The thyme and mascarpone didn’t shine through but the risotto was still nice and rich with a creamy texture. Its a good size for sharing or even just all to yourself!

Whole Roasted Mushrooms ($5) is topped off with parmesan and fresh herbs. Since I am a mushroom lover, I really liked this dish. Probably best for mushroom lovers. When you bite into them, all the flavourful juices flow out. Yum!

Bone Marrow Cheezy Bread ($5) was quite mediocre. We couldn’t see any bone marrow, nor could we taste it. Maybe it was masked by all the cheese?

Short rib Jumbo Macaroni ($9) has cabernet cream sauce. It was very delicious and was kinda like a meal on its own too. Nothing says yum like short rib meat and cream sauce!

Crispy Brussels Sprouts ($5) has a touch of lemon, parmesan and capers. The brussel sprout haters at the table loved it! It was hard to keep your hand off of them because they are that good!

Overall, we loved the sides and wide variety of choices. We weren’t trying to be cheap by ordering the sides, but the descriptions just really caught all our eyes. I got a feeling that the waitress did not like us ordering just sides and you could tell by the small gestures such as telling us to hurry up with the bill since there was already a line forming for dinner. Just for the food, I would return again since they do have pretty delicious innovative dishes.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Amazing sides! Must have Brussel sprouts!
  • Sides are best to share
  • Long lineups later in the evening
  • Closest Skytrain: Yaletown

We Rate The Flying Pig:

Address:
1168 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC V6B
Website:
http://www.theflyingpigvan.com/
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The American CheeseSteak Co. opened up around Davies and Granville a few months ago. They serve up some delicious CheeseSteaks at decent prices. Anthony Sedlak, the chef of The American CheeseSteak Co. was also the host of the Food Network show – The Main. He’s also lost a lot of weight since then.

If you’re looking a good filling meal with lots of delicious meat in a bun, this place is the place to go.

Dee from Gastrofork and I decided to check it out, so do check out her thoughts on the meal as well.


Bottled Coke ($3) I love old school bottled coke in the glass bottle. It brings me back to the days before I was born. I also caught a picture of Dee in the background just for fun.


Le Bifteck (Small-$10) has shaved prime rib, caramelized onion jam, double-cream brie, arugula, and dijon.

The ooey gooey brie cheese with the meat just made a very good combination. It was very messy to eat, so I got sauce all over my hands and face. I felt like a kid not being able to control how clean or messy I ate. You probably need 2 napkins or so. Even for a small size, I was completely full!

For some reason, all the ingredients inside the bun made the bottom side of the bread soggy, so it contributed to the messy factor.


The Coppola (Small- $10) has shaved prime rib, sautéed mushrooms, onions and green peppers, hot banana peppers, house-made roasted tomato sauce and provolone.

If you take a close look, that looks kinda spicy. Check out what Dee (Gastrofork) had to say about her Coppola CheeseSteak.


ACC Fries (Small-$4) is tossed with garlic, parsley and parmesan. We shared the fries and they were quite good, but we still were unable to finish them since the sandwich really filled us up. There are a lot of fries in the small size, so best to share with a friend.

Overall, we had a good time eating their huge meaty sandwiches. If you are a lover of sandwiches with lots of meat, you’ll probably love this place.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Small is quite filling
  • Eating the CheeseSteak can get quite messy
  • Around $10
  • Some seating, but it’s not too busy during dinner time

We Rate American CheeseSteak Co:

Address:
781 Davie St
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://www.americancheesesteak.com/

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The Juice Truck is participating in the Hot Chocolate Festival thats happening till February 14th, 2012. They have teamed up with Beta 5 chocolates to make some amazing creations. All proceeds raised goes towards food services programs of the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre in Vancouver.

Even though Juice Truck is known for their juice, the hot chocolate is out of this world.

Flo and I went to the Street Food City thats part of Dine Out Vancouver and saw they had this available! We were getting cold outside and it seemed like something delicious to drink.

The Hot Chocolate ($5.50) has 63% dark Beta5 Chocolate stick stirred into  hot almond milk, served with smoked sugar marshmallow. I love how interactive this drink is! You stir for about 2 minutes, but it is totally worth the wait. Perfect consistency and really smooth. Definitely recommended!

They have other flavours too listed below for the duration of the festival:

  • “JAPAN” – Matcha and White Chocolate Stick stirred into hot water.
    Served with: Yuzu Marshmallow
    Available January 14 – January 20
  • “INDIA” – 45% Milk Chocolate stirred into almond milk
    Served with: Chai-spiced Marshmallow
    Available: January 21 – January 27
  • “MEXICO” – 72% Dark Chocolate Stick stirred into rice milk.
    Served with: Cinnamon-Vanilla Marshmallow
    Available: January 28 – February 3
  • “CANADA” – 63% Dark Chocolate Stick stirred into hot milk.
    Served with: Smoked Sugar Marshmallow
    Available: February 4 – February 14

Overall, good quality hot chocolate. As I said before, I generally hate hot chocolate but this is an exception. It is still a tad expensive for just a drink, but the money goes towards a good cause.

Location:
200 Abbott Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.thejuicetruck.ca/

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Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited by a PR firm to try out C Restaurant’s Dine Out menu. This review does not guarantee 100% similar service you might normally get from this restaurant.


I’ve been to C Restaurant about a year ago with my parents and I thought the meal was really well executed and service was great. I actually never got around to writing about it, so I’ll use some of that past experience as a reference point.

For Dine Out Vancouver, they are offering up a 4-course meal for $38 with options to upgrade if you want. Considering their regular entrees can be around $30, you are getting your moneys worth. It’s a great way to try their different dishes without breaking your wallet too much.

Since I came with a few others (Alvin Lee , Stephanie Yuen, Shermans Food Adventures, Van Foodies, and GourmetFury), do check out their amazing blogs and perhaps they will have some different perspectives about the Dine Out menu.

There are seats upstairs and downstairs. The view of the main dining room gives you a good look at Granville Island and False Creek. Its gorgeous during the Summer time and a bit romantic at night.

This is the type of view that you will see, but depending at where you sit, you’ll probably see fewer boats.

Amuse Bouche is some finger food that comes before the appetizer. Depending on how many people you have at the table, this will probably vary. On the table we had seared tuna, prawns, quail egg, beets and a smoked salmon cannelloni.

My favorite was actually the smoked salmon cannelloni since the flavours went so well together. Kinda like a Philadelphia roll, but with the salmon and cream cheese.

Here’s a closer shot of them! Who could resist taking a bite out of these little cute things?

There is also some bread and butter.

VQA Wine Parings (+$26) If you are a wine lover, you might want to indulge in this. If you’re not, you probably wouldn’t want this addition. You get 4 pairing to go with the 4 courses.

North Arm Farms Beet Panzanella Salad also has harissa dressing and shaved ricotta salata. I never eat beets, but it tasted good. I wasn’t a big fan of the 2 croutons on the plate since it tasted a bit stale to me.

Sauteed Spot Prawns (+$9) if you don’t feel like having the beet salad, you can get this option for $9 more. The prawns were delicious, but I felt that the romesco sauce and the kale were quite salty.

Seared Albacore Tuna with winter minestrone, parmesan and topped with a crisp basil.

I really loved the tuna since it was beautifully seared on the outside and really delicate on the inside. It was a tad small, but with C Restaurant, you do get 4 courses, so you will be full at the end.

Seared Lake Babine Salmon comes with a squash puree on the bottom with brussel sprouts and on top there is an almond tapenade. The salmon was jaw droppingly good! I usually hate cooked salmon, but since it was just seared, you do get the amazing natural flavours of the salmon. The squash puree has cinnamon spices in it, so at first it did taste a bit odd. Later on it kept bringing me memories of eating cinnamon pancakes.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin (+$12) has walnut polenta, tarragon butter, portobello mushrooms and the beef drippings. The beef was really tender and was a very good meat dish. You do have to add extra money, but if you do have more money to spend, you can go for this option.

Spiced Chocolate Pudding has vanilla chantilly (like whipped cream) with crisp caramel puffed rice. The chocolate pudding has such a variety of spices that blended nicely together. I really enjoyed it.

Petit Fours is a sweet little bite sized treat at the end of the meal. You get a Lemon poppy-seed Biscotti.

Overall, it was a pretty solid Dine Out menu with good execution. You definitely get your moneys worth. If you dine here on a usual night, you’ll end up spending way more. If you are looking for seafood-type dishes, its good here.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Dine Out worth the $38 especially when the menu is quite flexible to add additional dishes or upgrade
  • If you aren’t doing Dine Out, these items are also on their regular dinner menu
  • Sustainable and local ingredients
  • Well executed fish dishes
  • Good Service

We Rate C Restaurant:

Address:

2-1600 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z

Website:
http://www.crestaurant.com/

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Coming down from SFU, a few of us wanted to get some sushi, but the place we wanted to go to wouldn’t let us order even though they were open. So, we drove to Narita Sushi as an alternative.

They are located close to the SilverCity Theatres in Coquitlam. They have all the usual sushi and typical items.

Tea!

Edamame (Complementary). It tasted quite normal, which is good! No complaints here

Negitoro Roll and Alaska Roll

Negitoro Roll has pieces of tuna with green onions. Its a bit different than other places where they just mash them all together.

Alaska roll has crab, avocado, cream cheese, cucumber, and topped with smoked salmon.

Ebi Sunomono ($3.75) has tons of little shrimp! Look at all of that!

Takoyaki

Sushi Box Combo ($13.50) has ebi nigiri, tuna nigiri, salmon nigiri, dynamite roll, tempura, green salad, gyoza, ebi sunomono, and miso soup.

The box was huge! I barely finished it since the dynamite roll was quite large. The tempura was really good, but I found the other items decent. I wasn’t a fan of the sauce on the dynamite roll since I like the rolls to be dipped in soy sauce instead.

Miso Soup that comes with the combo is the usual stuff.

Sunomono (the one the comes with combo) is a tad bit smaller with a bit less ebi, but it still tasted good. It was nice and refreshing.

Here are size comparisons between the sizes of the sunomono dishes. The larger one is the ala carte version and the one on the right, its the one that comes with the combo.

Rolls with spicy salmon, crab meat and avocado (Complementary). We aren’t too sure why this came to our table, but the chef just gave this to us. It tasted alright.

Overall, the food was pretty average. Nothing really “wow-ed” me, but its a good place in the neighbourhood to get some rolls and bento boxes that will fill you up!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Very large bento boxes
  • Tons of Parking
  • Good Service
  • Bring movie ticket from Silvercity for 5% off (Dine-in with minimum order of $25)

We Rate Narita Sushi:

Address:

#408-100 Schoolhouse Street
Coquitlam, BC V3K

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Yan’s Garden serves up Chinese food and is popular in the suburbs for their dim sum on the weekends. They have been here for a while and doing fairly well in the neighbourhood. They even cater to the Koreans nearby by having a Korean menu too.

M and I came here since we haven’t had dim sum in a few months, so it was time to try this place out.

There are 2 dining areas in Yan’s Garden. One is very nice and then this side is very dull and super cold. I kept my coat on the entire time since this side was quite chilly. If you can, try to get a table on the other side.

Sui Mai ($2.95) comes with 4 pieces and tasted quite normal and average. It consists of mostly ground pork with some shrimp.

I wish I knew what this was. It tasted like a Steamed Prawn Dumpling, but it looks nothing like it. This had the same wrapping as the sui mai. Clearly I was very very confused.

Pot Stickers came with a vinegar dipping sauce. The inside has some pork and vegetables wrapped in a thin wrapper and pan-fried. This also tasted quite average.

Deep Fried Wontons were crispy on the outside and shrimpy on the inside. I didn’t take a liking to this either. It’s probably because I didn’t like the sweet sauce the went along with this.

Steamed Beef Meatballs ($2.95) comes in 3 large pieces. You can get them to cut it if you wanted them into smaller pieces. This is probably one of my favorite dishes since it has a good mixture of ingredients and its nothing like an Italian meatball. It’s a bit springy and has good flavour.

Deep Fried Meat Dumplings ($2.95) has a very glutenous layer surrounding minced meat and mushrooms. It’s one of those usual items in dim sum.

I personally never liked this since it’s so chewy that it takes so much effort to eat this. In a way, it reminds me of mochi.

Overall, food was pretty average. I don’t think there was any dish that we ordered was amazing. The service was alright, but at times I felt the servers were being way too pushy with selling us the food on the carts.

Nonetheless, it’s still popular in this area for their affordable prices and decent food. I think this time around, I didn’t order the good stuff.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Pretty average Dim sum
  • Request to sit at the nicer dining area
  • Fried squid, egg tarts, eggplant and shrimp is so good
  • Busy parking lot in the front, you may need to fight for parking spots
  • Closest Skytrain: Lougheed Town Center
  • Traditional pushing dim sum carts

We Rate Yan’s Garden Chinese Restaurant:

Address:
9948 Lougheed Hwy
Burnaby, BC
Website:
http://www.yansgardenrestaurant.ca/
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TaiwaneseGirl wanted to come here for Hot Pot since it’s a large popular chain restaurant in Asia. Mongolian Little Sheep Hot Pot is located inside Lansdowne Mall in Richmond.

We made reservations at 7:30pm, but they didn’t honor our reservation. So, we waited…and waited…and waited. 40 minutes later we finally got a table. Clearly, we were not impressed with the service. There was 5 of us, so it was a ridiculous wait.

This place is packed on the weekends even though it is so large inside.

All You Can Eat Hot Pot ($19.99/ person + $9.99 broth) with half spicy and half original broth. It’s good to satisfy people who like spicy and non-spicy. The spicy side is really really really good for cooking meat and the original side is good for vegetables.

I usually avoid spicy, but I found the spicy side addictive for cooking meat and tofu!

For dinner, we chose this all you can eat option since it was too expensive buying ala carte.

The sauce is do-it-yourself. You just need to find the table of this stuff and begin mixing. You can choose from the following sauces:

  • Soy sauce
  • Vinegar
  • Peanut Sauce
  • Chili paste
  • Chili oil
  • Minced garlic
  • Satay sauce

I usually put in a lot of chili oil, satay sauce, and garlic. It’s really up to you what you want your sauce to taste like.

Vegetables, enoki mushrooms, fish balls, corn, tofu, and crab meat!

Udon noodles and vermicelli noodles.

Chicken and fish.

Raw Beef Slices! We order lots and lots and lots of this!

The food was good and we had a great time, but the largest problem here is the service.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Make Reservations, but not guaranteed to be held for you
  • Delicious broth
  • Decent prices for all you can eat
  • Ala Carte is very expensive
  • Very poor service

We Rate Mongolian Little Sheep Hot Pot:

Address:
#405-5300 No.3 Road
Richmond, BC
Website:
http://www.littlesheephotpot.com/
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Scoop! is a Frozen Yogurt place on West 4th. They have frozen yogurt with some amazing toppings.

After an event Downtown, a bunch of us headed here since Wongers insisted we go! It’s probably because its good and I’ve never been here. She raves about this place and now I know why.

The interior is quite homey with a few seats at the front and some more in the back.

Their most popular items are the frozen yogurts, but they also have smoothies and juices.

Their frozen yogurt machine pumps out their original flavour, so if you want green tea, mango, raspberry or chocolate hazelnut, they manually blend that together. You can choose 2 flavours and combine them together.

After choosing your size and flavour of the yogurt, you can then begin adding toppings. Its an additional $0.93 per 50g.

The best topping that they have are the Mochi! It’s made in-house and out of all the frozen yogurt places I have been to, it’s is really the best. I do also love all the fruits!

You can also add different syrups on top such as white chocolate, chocolate sauce, hot fudge, condensed milk, dulce de leche, and many more.

Small Original ($3.29+additional topping cost) goes best with fruit. It’s the best way to enjoy your froyo!

Small Original and green tea ($3.49 +additional topping cost). The green tea was mushed up at the bottom and the original was put on top. It was good and I liked the toppings!

If you do order the blended flavour, it looks more flat and melts faster than just the original.

The fun doesn’t end there! They have a lot of board games to play! They have a few classics such as Monopoly, Battleship, Jenga…etc. It’s really a great place to just hang out with a few friends. They also have this puzzle game called “Vortex”, I dare you to play it! I spent the whole time trying to solve it…but we couldn’t. If you figure out the secret, do let me know!!

They also have a Fooseball table! How cool is that? This little frozen yogurt place is cooler than some peoples houses.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Lots of games to play
  • Original flavour is best
  • Blended favours melt faster and not as pretty looking
  • Decent prices
  • Pay street parking

We Rate Scoop!:

Address:
2050 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC
Website:
scoopyogurt.com
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By now, almost everyone in Vancouver has probably heard of Japadog. They are famous for having Japanese inspired hotdogs.

They have even attracted may celebrities visiting Vancouver.

They have even expanded into New York!

Everything is prepared at the cart and you can see them hard at work!

Yakisoba Japadog ($7) has a pork sausage topped with yakisoba noodles and pickled ginger on a toasted bun. It tasted really good, but it was kinda messy to eat.

They also have super unique types of japadogs such as the edamame one where the sausage has beans. They do have regular hotdogs too, but why have that when you can have a Japadog!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Better than the usual hotdog stands
  • Under $10
  • Can be a bit expensive
  • Good place to take tourists since it’s world-famous
  • Terimayo, Oroshi and Okonomi is most popular

We rate Japadog: 

Location:

Burrard and Smith

Website:

http://www.japadog.com/
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Reno’s is located on the ground floor of the Lee Building on Broadway and Main street. They sell cheap and affordable food! Most of the items on their menu is a little bit Canadian and Chinese, but you still have the breakfast classics.

Munchkie’s Munchies took me here for some brunch since it’s been on her ‘To Eat’ list forever.

To order, you line up at the counter and pay first. Then they will give you a number to wait at your seat.

Tea ($1.25)

Pancake Special ($5.95) comes with 2 pancakes, 2 sausages, 2 strips of bacon and eggs.

It’s a good price for what you get, but you can hear more about what Angela thought about them on her blog – Munchkie’s Munchies.

#3 Special ($6.95) + Side of Sausages (2.95) the special comes with hamburger steak, eggs, potatoes, toast and then additional order of the 3 sausages. I’m pretty sure the hamburger was just frozen and then cooked. The eggs were a bit bland, but if you throw some salt and pepper or some tabasco sauce it’ll be better.

Toast was the usual toast. You can choose from white, brown, or multi-grain bread.It’s buttered and you get a little container of jam.

Overall, the food was decent and at good prices. It’s a place with no frills type of food.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Paid street parking nearby
  • Under $10
  • Lots of seating
  • You can even order Chinese food here

We Rate Reno’s:
Address:
151 E Broadway
Vancouver, BC

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French Made Baking finally opened up their store on Kingsway and Broadway. I’ve been waiting for them to open for a while and I finally made a trip down to check out their store for the Hot Chocolate Festival. They are one of the many vendors participating in the month long festival. They feature new flavours everyday till February 14th!

Since I had lunch with Angela from Munchkie’s Munchies , we decided to come here after to chill over desserts and hot chocolate!

Their flavours of hot chocolates change everyday, so do keep an eye on their schedule.

  • Praline – Milk chocolate | January 14, 20, 26, Feb 1, 7, 12
  • Yuzu – Dark Chocolate | January 15, 21, 27, February 2, 8,
  • Vanilla Chestnut – White Chocolate | January 17, 22, 28, February 3, 9,
  • Passion Fruit – Milk Chocolate | January 18, 24, 29, February 4, 10, 14
  • Earl Grey – Milk Chocolate | January 19, 25, 31, February 5, 11

Once you walk into the store, you can look through into their kitchen to see them hard at work creating all their cute pastries.

Praline Hot Chocolate ($5.25 with Macaron) had a beautiful smooth texture with little bit of praline integrated into it. This is probably one of the better hot chocolates I’ve had.

I’m generally not a big fan of hot chocolate, but I did enjoy this. The price is pretty good too since other vendors can charge up to $8  for a hot chocolate.

Pistachio Macaron I thought were really good! One of my favorite places for macarons!

Le Caneles ($2.50) is a small pastry that originated from Bordeaux, France. It has a soft tender custard center with a dark caramel crust. I’ve had it in the past, but this time it tasted alright, but I couldn’t put my finger on what was different.

Creme Brulee didn’t have the nice “crack” when you break into the toasted sugar top. I don’t think Angela took much of a liking to it either. We did notice that it was toasted ahead of time, which may have contributed to that.

Another thing we noticed was the use of the paper plates and cups, since we were eating it all in the store, it probably would have been better to have real cups and plates. ** UPDATE: They have now plates, mugs, and cutlery! **

Since they are still in their soft launch of their store, I am sure they will improve on their products in the near future. Nonetheless, the macarons and hot chocolate are super good!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Can be found at a few local farmers’ markets
  • Must get the macarons and hot chocolate!!
  • Some items can be a hit and a miss
  • Under $10
  • Limited seats
  • Gluten-free

We Rate French Made Baking:

Address:
81 Kingsway
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://frenchmadebaking.com/
Twitter:
@FrMadeBaking
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Ricky’s All Day Grill has a location in City Central Mall in Surrey. After class, a few of us got really hungry, so we came here to chow down.

They have a lot of items on their menu, so you might be able to find something that will fill your food cravings.

The first thing we noticed was that the utensils were really really dirty! So, we asked for new ones.

The second sets were also quite dirty! We didn’t bother asking for another set of utensils since if they can’t get it right the 2nd time, we didn’t have high hopes that it would be any cleaner. I think they just didn’t dry properly.

I’m sure this happens at most restaurants, but it’s still kinda gross. Best to grab a cup of water and start cleaning your utensils….Asian style.

Classic double egger has 2 eggs, shredded hash browns, toast with chorizo sausage. M liked the sausage, but other than that, everything else was decent.

Classic Benny with shaved ham has 2 poached eggs and ham on English muffins, topped with hollandaise. It also has shredded hash browns and fruit. InsecureGirl thought it was OK too, but not very good.

“R” Signature BLTC Salad comes with bacon, 3 cheeses, tomatoes, green onions and chicken strips with Dijon ranch dressing. It also comes with bread. I really didn’t like the salad. The chicken was dry and the salad didn’t seem very fresh.

Overall, the food was passable but nothing I would come back to. It’s still quite popular with students at the SFU campus.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Lots of Parking at the mall outside Ricky’s
  • Mediocre service
  • Dirty utensils
  • Prices slightly expensive for what you get

We Rate Ricky’s All Day Grill:
Address:
10153 King George Hwy
Surrey, BC
Website:
http://www.rickys-restaurants.com/
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Nelson the Seagull is a cafe in Gastown. They are known for their coffee and their simple foods. Once you step foot inside of here, you’ll realize its very hipster. It’s a great place to do some work over a coffee, or just sit to find inspiration. The space is very very open.

I’ve heard lots about it, so I came to have lunch here with KoreanGirl, Mandu and Jojocake.

Their kitchen is very open, no wall, no doors, nothing. You can see them at work making your meal.

Here is their menu.

Tea ($2.50) comes in their super cool ceramic cups. Its shaped like a crinkled beer cup. You know, the one where you play beer pong with. Kinda expensive for tea…but I love tea.

Carnivore Sandwich ($9) has cilantro pesto, Dijon, boerenkaas cheese, and Big Lou’s Pastrami on top of their house made rustic bread. It also comes with a mini salad on the side consisting of apple, spinach and onion with a vinaigrette sauce.

All of us at the table ended up ordering the carnivore sandwich. I think it was the only meaty item they had on their menu for lunch.

The best part of this sandwich was Big Lou’s Pastrami! I thought the sandwich was really good, but the others had some mixed thoughts about the sandwich. Some thought it was salty, some thought the bread was a bit tough and burnt looking.

I personally would go again since the meat was so damn good!

Overall, Nelson the Seagull has a very simple straight forward menu with decent prices.

Words of Wisdom:

  • No parking, best to skytrain and walk a bit from Stadium Station
  • Limited lunch menu
  • Under $10
  • Carnivore sandwich is a must

We Rate Nelson the Seagull

Address:
315 Carrall Street
Vancouver, BC
Website:
http://www.nelsontheseagull.com/

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Back to Pinkberry again since I just can’t get enough of their frozen yogurt. M hasn’t been to Pinkberry yet, so he really wanted to try what all the fuss is about.

Small Size with toppings ($5.55) + Peanut Butter Crunch ($0.50)

M got the chocolate frozen yogurt with chocolate chops, chocolate crisps, chocolate sauce and the peanut butter crunch topping. I suppose he was in a very very chocolate mood. Strangely enough, he loved it and didn’t find it too sweet.

Small Size with toppings ($5.55) + Peanut Butter Crunch ($0.50)

I went with the original frozen yogurt with mochi, some fruit and the peanut butter crunch topping. I am a peanut butter lover, so I loved the addition of the topping. By having the premium toppings, it does make your yogurt a bit more expensive. It’s worth it if you love peanut butter.

Overall, we were pretty satisfied with the frozen yogurt. Better quality than the other frozen yogurt stores in the mall.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Peppermint Flavour tastes like toothpaste…and looks like toothpaste
  • If unsure of flavour, you can ask them for samples before deciding which flavour you want
  • Must try swirl pearls since they can only be found at Pinkberry
  • Peanut Butter Crunch topping is worth the extra $0.50 if you love peanut butter.
  • Small or medium is a good size

We Rate Pinkberry: 
Address
F142 – 4700 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H4M1
Website:
pinkberrycanada.com
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Last time I came to Thierry Patisserie, I found it a great place to chat with people over some delicious treats.

Since I was meeting up with CanuckGirl after work, I thought it would be a great place to just chill.

Everything is quite cute inside and it’s usually packed with people. Sometimes seating can get a bit cramped, but they do have heated patio seating if you wanna go outside.

They have lots of little cakes.

They also have a variety of different chocolates.

Also, they have their famous macarons. The flavours change every season, so it can vary from visit to visit.

Latte was really cute. Some pretty stellar latte art too.

Caneles is a small pastry that originated from Bordeaux, France. It has a soft tender custard center with a dark caramel crust. It tasted alright, but it could have more a vanilla taste to it.

Overall, Thierry Patisserie is a good place to chill with your friends over coffee/tea and pastries.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Large variety of pastries
  • Can be a bit pricey
  • Lots of tables
  • Beautiful decor
We Rate Thierry Patisserie: 

Address
1059 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC
Website:
thierrychocolates.com
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Hello Internet! RomanJ here with another review. Today we check out the Sushi Izumi in the Metrotown food court. During the holidays I spent a lot of time in the mall shopping for gifts. To satisfy my sushi craving without having to leave the mall, I tried Sushi Izumi, which is right besides Nando’s Chicken. Sushi Izumi has a big selection of combos, rolls and dons to choose from.

I ordered the Maki Combo ($7.75), which consists of a Salmon Roll, a California Roll and a Tuna Roll with avocado. In addition to the combo, I also ordered a Salmon Sashimi ($6.95).

The Maki Combo: Salmon Roll, California roll and the Tuna roll we’re okay to begin when I started eating. As I started to devour the rolls, I notice that the sushi rice has a slight pale taste to it, affecting each roll with every bit leaving me not to enjoy my rolls.

The Salmon Sashimi was surprisingly adequate, it was not too cold or too warm and it wasn’t thawed out. I enjoyed the Salmon Sashimi over the rolls.

Overall, I would probably not go here for the sushi rolls and the best item on the menu from what I have tasted is the Sashimi.

Words of Advice

  • Don’t get the rolls
  • Always ask for more soy sauce (2 packs isn’t enough)
  • Busy during peak hours

We Rate Sushi Izumi:

Address:

4820 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC V5H

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Finch’s Tea & Coffee House is an amazing place for baguettes. The place is a bit small and super crowded for lunch. Sometimes its hard to find a seat, so lots of people do take out. I’ve been fortunate to find a seat every time..since I stalk people for seats.

Nonetheless, I always go here when I know I want something that won’t disappoint me.

Latte was alright, but it didn’t look good. It was more like a cappuccino due to the foam.

Avocado Baguette ($8.75) has avocado, roasted walnuts, Edam cheese, cucumber, lettuce, Dijon, mayo, oil and vinegar. The avocado and walnuts went beautifully together. Its really hard to eat, but this sandwich tasted so good!

Prosciutto Salad ($8.75) has lettuce, vine tomatoes, black pepper, oil and vinegar with a side of buttered baguette. If you aren’t into getting so messy, they have salads too. They give you plenty of prosciutto and I also liked it.

Overall, I haven’t been disappointed by their food yet….maybe their latte, but not their food. I come here quite often since it’s close to the office and it’s not too expensive.

Also, did you know the 50/50 movie starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen was filmed here!

Words of Wisdom:

  • Pay Parking on streets
  • Amazing baguettes!
  • Under $10
  • Very busy during lunch, so hard to find seats
  • Best Baguettes: Pear Baguette and the Avocado Baguette

We Rate Finch’s Tea & Coffee House: 

Address:

353 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.finchteahouse.com
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Cham Mani is a Korean restaurant on Pender. The interior seemed very simple and would work for a quick lunch. The lunch are cheap and under $10. My coworker wanted some good cheap food, so I took her here.

KimchiJjiGae ($7.50) is kimchi stew with pork, tofu and onion. Comes with a side of rice. I like it! It was a tad spicy, so if you fear spicy, this isn’t for you. There’s a good amount of stew and rice, so you will be full.

I ate it by mixing the rice into the stew, but you could also put some stew onto the rice. Doesn’t really matter how you do it as long as it gets into your belly.

You also get some side dishes to share. We got Kimchi and tofu curds, which are complementary.

JeYukDupBap ($8.25) is spicy pork and vegetables over rice. It is also spicy, so do watch out. If you like spice, you’ll be alright.

Overall, pretty good. The place is family owned, so you do get a sense of “home” in the food when you eat here. I was looking at other tables and their other dishes looked pretty awesome too. The dishes aren’t too fancy, but its perfect lunch food.

Words of Wisdom:

  • Closest Skytrain – Granville or Waterfront
  • Under $10
  • Best deal is with the combos
  • Quick fast lunch
  • Small restaurant, not good for large groups.

We Rate Cham Mani: 

Address:

529 West Pender St
Vancouver, BC
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